Un Dernier Verre – Citadelle Jardin d’Ete
One trend with gin is to come up with special seasonal editions. This is just what Citdalle did with their Jardin d’Ete version. On top of a number of different citrus fruits, the gin also uses melons as a special botanical. This is why, I decided to come up with a fresh and summery Highball version of a Contessa Negroni.
The Citadelle Jardin d’Ete Gin is based on the original Citadelle Gin. Furthermore, the inspiration for the summery botanical mix comes from Debbie’s garden at the Ferrrand’s Château de Bonbonnet. The list of 22 botanicals includes juniper, lemon, lemon peel, Charentais melon flesh, orange peel, Yuzu peel, Orris root, almond, fennel, star anise, cardamom, nutmeg, violet, coriander, cubeb pepper, cassia, licorice, savory, Szechuan pepper, angelica, cumin and cinnamon. In the end, Ferrand bottles the gin in in their iconic blue bottle at an ABV of 41,5 %.
Summery and light
Contrary to my expectations, the Jardin d’Ete still tastes a lot like the classic Citadelle Gin. Furthermore, you can taste a lot of different citrus fruits in the gin. I also detected a clear lemon verbena note. Additionally, there a lot of spices which clearly of black pepper. In my opinion, the gin is quite well balanced, but could even use a more summery notes.
Contessa Negroni Highball
The Contessa Negroni is a lighter version of the classic Negroni which replaces Campari with Aperol. So, I took that as the base for a highball style drink. However, instead of sweet vermouth I went for the Starlino Rosé Aperitif. Inspired by a drink posted by Torben from Empire Brick of Gin, I top everything off with a great yuzu lemonade. All in all, I decided to garnish the drink in the style of a Pimm’s Cup.
3 cl Aperol
3 cl Starlino Rosé Aperitif
Built – Highball glass over ice cubes – top off with lemonade;
Garnish: Cucumber Wheel – Lemon Twist – Orange Slice – Sprig of Mint;
Song: Beirut – Un Dernier Verre;
The finished drink clearly has a summery vibe to it. You get a certain Contessa Negroni feel from it, which even tends into the original Negroni direction. After a while, the Yuzu lemonade kicks in and takes the Highball in a refreshing direction. The garnish further adds to the fresh and summery notes of the drink.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The gin was provided by Ferrand Spirits.
